14 Mistakes That Have Costed Businesses Millions

By YEET MAGAZINE Updated 0118 GMT (0918 HKT) October 2, 2021

© Koichi Kamoshida / Stringer / Getty Images

No matter how much money is invested in technological wonders or how many brains there are to work on a project for companies like United Airlines , there is always a risk that something will go wrong.

Whether it's a billion dollar submarine that fails to float or a one-time guitar model destroyed by a Hollywood actor, some costly mistakes can (and do) happen. ), causing the companies concerned damages of several thousand or even tens of billions of euros. While some of these could easily have been avoided by just sending an email, other projects were doomed from the start.

1. The Isaac Peral submarine

Year : 2013
Location : Spain
Company: Navantia
Estimated cost of damage: 2 billion euros *.

You don't have to be an engineering expert to know that a submarine must first be able to be able to float. Despite investing more than 2 billion euros for the acquisition of its new state-of-the-art submarine Isaac Peral in 2013, the Spanish government ended up not even using it due to this very costly mistake.

Naval submarine © noraismail / Shutterstock.com

It turned out that the submarine was ultimately far too heavy to float properly. While trying to resolve the problem, the engineers came to the conclusion that a calculation error had been made upstream. Fortunately, this project remained at the design stage, without reaching the manufacturing stage, but it still cost the Spanish government a considerable amount of money. This blunder did not go unnoticed and was exposed in many media such as Fox .

2. The French “Big Trains”

Year: 2014
Location : France
Company: RFF gave the wrong dimensions to SNCF
Estimated cost of damage: 60 million euros *.

We know companies like American Airlines have their roots in the skies, but what about the rails? Railways and the metro are used a lot in France, so when SNCF decided to invest in a new transport project, it seemed like a good idea.

Paris: Two TGV in the Parisian East station @ Taxiarchos228 / CC BY / Wikimedia Commons

However, even the best-laid plans can sometimes be poorly executed. In 2014, 2,000 new trains costing over € 20.5 billion were due to be put into service, but something was wrong. They were too large, or too "fat" as were amused ed some media such as the BBC to qualify them for walking the tracks safely. The error would have cost more than 60 million euros to the SNCF.

3. A neighborhood in South Dakota built on an abandoned mine

Year: 2020
Location : South Dakota, USA
Company: Dakota Plaster Company
Estimated cost of damage: 10 to 15 million euros *.

When buying a house, it is a good idea to check with the real estate agent that it was not built on a large abandoned mine. A collective of South Dakota residents didn't have that instinct until they shelled out a fortune for their gorgeous newly built homes in 2014. Channels like Viacom’s CBS quickly took hold of the story, which went viral.

South Dakota Neighborhood Built on an Abandoned Mine @Ternarian / Imgur.com

A resident was mowing his lawn when a gaping hole appeared. Twelve families then had to be evacuated. Experts found that a huge gypsum mine nearly 200 meters long was located under the dwellings, making them unsafe - and worthless.
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4. The sinking of the Titanic

Year: 1912                                                                                                                Location: North Atlantic Ocean                                                                                      Company: White Star Line                                                                                             Estimated cost of damage: 6.5 million euros / 350 million euros taking inflation into account *.

In 1912, the Titanic was a real feat of engineering. Indeed, at a cost of 6.5 million euros (or 350 million euros today), it was a passenger ship totally different from anything that could have existed before. With its stunning lounges and majestic staircase, it looked more like a floating 5-star hotel.

The Sinking of the Titanic @Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

Sadly, we all know how the maiden voyage went. The Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on the evening of April 15. Despite the amount invested, the Titanic had many flaws, including poorly designed rivets and only 16 lifeboats to accommodate more than 3,300 people. The film exploitation of the Voyage of the Titanic, directed by James Cameron for 20th Century Fox and Oscar winner , brought in more than 180 million euros at the box office in 1997.Advertising

5. Beach parking

Year: 2019
Location: Auckland Beach, New Zealand
Company: Little Shoal Bay Nautical Club
Estimated cost of damage: € 45,000 *.

If there is one thing we all know, it is that parking your car in a safe place is an absolute necessity. It wouldn't occur to anyone to park a brand new Tesla on a beach, but someone thought they could give it a try with a Land Rover 4 × 4.

Digger on the Beach @ u / fjmgtw / Reddit.com

It is not known why and what motivated the individual in question to believe that this was the ideal place to park such an expensive car. So, an excavator was sent to remove the 4 × 4, but it in turn got bogged down, remaining completely submerged in the sand and mud for more than three days.
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6. The Millennium Weighbridge

Year: 2000
Location : London
Company: Monberg & Thorsen, Sir Robert McAlpine
Estimated cost of damage: 4.5 million euros *

When construction of a new luxury Thames Bridge began in 2000, Londoners were rightly happy. What they weren't expecting though - given its hefty € 20million price tag - is that it wobbles at this point when they walk through it.

Swinging Millenium Bridge @Nattfodd / Commons.wikimedia.org

The fault also surprised engineers, who quickly realized it was "positive feedback," a phenomenon that occurs when too many people cross the bridge. In order to correct this, they asked for an additional 5 million euros to install 37 viscous fluid dampers between 2001 and 2002 in an attempt to "distribute the energy".
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7. The Noaa-N Prime Drop satellite

Year: 2003
Location: Sunnyvale, California
Company: Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Estimated cost of damage: 120 million euros *.

Although satellites look like large clumps of metal without any elegance, they are in fact incredibly complex machines that require a lot of money and expertise to manufacture. So when a satellite takes damage, that's not the kind of thing that repairs itself with Newell’s Krazy Glue.

The Noaa-N Prime Satellite Drop @ u / abledanger / Reddit.com

In 2003, workers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale were moving the Noaa-N Prime satellite to another location when it slipped off its plate and found itself on the ground, causing damage of 120 million euros. The cause ? Someone forgot to secure it with the required 24 bolts before lifting it.
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8. Improperly parked F-16 jet

Year: 2018
Location : Belgium
Company: Belgian Air Force
Estimated cost of damage: 12 to 15 million euros *.

We've all made mistakes in our job, but have you ever accidentally shot a cannon and destroyed a nearly $ 15 million fighter plane? If not, a maintenance agent in Belgium did it. The incident occurred in 2018 at the Florennes air base.

Misparked F-16 Jet @Dankyoupro / Imgur.com

Although details of the incident remain unclear, the operator managed to accidentally fire a Vulcan cannon at a General Dynamics' F-16 and destroyed it. Fortunately, there were no casualties, however two technicians sustained head injuries as a result of this extremely reckless (and costly) mistake.
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9. The skyscraper that melted cars

Year: 2013
Location: London
Company: Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group
Estimated cost of damage: € 900 for the car / Unknown for the building *.

Skyscrapers are commonplace in major cities around the world, but how many of them are known to have melted down cars and other businesses? The Walkie Talkie at 20 Fenchurch Street in London made headlines like Disney’s ABC in 2014 after it melted part of the structure of a parked Jaguar in front of it due to the glare of the sun.

The Car-Melting Skyscraper @Alexandra Cortes Pace / Shutterstock.com

The repair of the Jaguar cost more than 900 euros, but the damage caused by the reflection of the building did not end there. Neighboring businesses said their windows cracked in the heat, forcing the manager of the £ 250m building to invest an undisclosed amount in installing a parasol giant facing south.
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10. Kurt Russell destroys a rare and priceless guitar from the 1870s.

Year: 2015
Location: On the set of the film Les Huit Salopards
Company: Shiny Penny, Film Colony
Estimated cost of damage: € 35,000 *.

Director Quentin Tarantino is behind some incredible movies, like the recent Sony Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019, to name just one. In 2015, he hired Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh to star in The Dirty Eight . In one scene from the film, the actress is playing the guitar when Russell's character snatches it off and smashes it.

Kurt Russell Destroys a Rare, Priceless 1870s Guitar @Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com | @Randel Ball / Pinterest.com

However, what the actor did not know is that the guitar in question was a museum piece worth 35,000 euros. The production was supposed to replace the guitar with a cheap replica in the middle of the stage, but they forgot. Museum officials were so furious that they have refused to lend any items since.  
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11. Escape slide inside an airplane

Year: 2014
Location : In flight, between Chicago and Orange County
Company: United Airlines
Estimated cost of damage: € 18,000 *.

The last thing passengers on the flight from Chicago to Orange County expected in 2014 was for the emergency slide to go off inside the cabin. According to media reports, the United Airlines flight was proceeding as planned when passengers heard a whistling sound and subsequently noticed that the inflatable structure was gradually deploying.

Emergency Slide Inside a Plane @ txnlas14 / Imgur.com

The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in Kansas. The plane itself had to be taken out of service while the slide was replaced, costing the airline some 18,000 euros. Fortunately, no one got hurt.
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12. A priceless painting by Elias Martinez ruined forever

Year: 2012
Location: Eastern Spain
Company: Restoration performed by Cecilia Gimenez
Estimated cost of damage: Inestimable

Sometimes works of art are so rare that it is difficult to determine their true value. In 2012, the world was seized with dread by discovering the initiative of a Spanish philanthropist, who embarked on the restoration of “Ecce Homo” by Elias Garcia Martinez. When staff came to take a look at this depiction of Christ in the Santuario de Misericordia , they were horrified to see the damage.

Priceless Elias Martinez Painting Ruined Forever @ u / mungoflago / Reddit.com

Although the intention around this "restoration" was not bad, the result was quite different. Martinez's masterpiece was altered so much that it became unrecognizable, transforming Jesus, a religious figure, into something more like a monkey.  
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13. Piper Alpha explosion

Year: 1988
Location :   Aberdeen, Scotland
Company: Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd.
Estimated cost of damage: 1.3 billion euros *.

Working on an oil rig can be a tricky (and expensive) business. When the going gets tough, there is often a very fine line between a near miss and a fatal disaster. In 1988, a rig operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Limited exploded when a pressure reducer flange leaked.

Piper Alpha Explosion @Smithsonian Channel / YouTube.com

Thus, several explosions took place between 9 p.m. and 11:20 p.m. on July 6, ultimately leading to the complete collapse of the platform. The damage reached an astronomical amount of 1.3 billion euros. The Piper Alpha incident remains one of the biggest disasters in the history of the oil industry to this day.
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14. Premature release of fire foam

Year: 2013
Location : Miscellaneous
Company: Delta Air Lines
Estimated cost of damage: € 90,000 *.

Storing airplanes requires a lot of care and financial means. It is therefore natural that some companies seek to protect their aircraft by installing a fire fighting foam system. Thus, if a fire breaks out, it is brought under control more quickly. Of course, if the foam accidentally releases while there is no fire, it is a costly disaster.

Premature Fire Foam Release @AirlineFlyer / Twitter.com

Delta Air Lines learned this the hard way in 2013, when its new hangar and planes were “taken over” for no reason. Several military bases also faced the same problem, resulting in hundreds of thousands of euros in unnecessary repair costs.